SC closes TN SIR case after Bihar SIR verdict

The Supreme Court on Thursday ended proceedings on 13 petitions filed by political parties and leaders challenging the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant took cognizance of the petitioners’ submission that the case did not require further consideration in view of the apex court’s judgment in the Bihar SIR case. The bench then disposed of all the 13 petitions on the issue.

On May 27, the CJI-led panel delivered its verdict on a number of petitions challenging the SIR in Bihar and upheld its authority to conduct the exercise by the Election Commission. It organized the exercise to “breathe life” into the constitutional mandate for fair elections and upheld the “constitutional imperative of free and fair elections”.

Parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, attacked the SIR as a “de novo citizenship verification process” that risked disenfranchising thousands of voters in the state. The petitioners referred to the “unilateral imposition” of the intensive exercise without consulting the state governments as an “erosion of the federal structure”.

“Tamil Nadu’s role has been reduced to a mere implementing agency, despite the significant impact of the measure on its constituents,” one of the petitions claimed.

Published – 16 Jul 2026 23:45 IST